Kevin Vaccarello is behind events such as Sustain Hawaii and outfits like carbon-offsetting company eco2balance. Now the green entrepreneur hopes to create an online braintrust to turn sustainability talk into action with the 3-week-old Web site PIKO — the Pacific Integrated Knowledge Ohana. "It's intended to be a gathering place for all sustainability-related efforts in Hawai'i," says Vaccarello. Through the Web site, "everyone will know who's doing what and how we can work together to achieve sustainability." Already 80 people, including Gail Hannemann, have signed up. http://piko.sustainhawaii.org.

— Lesa Griffith

BAGS FOR BRIDES

You've got the dress, shoes, makeup, lingerie, veil, jewelry, hair and bouquet all set for the big day. Then you sling a ratty leather handbag over your shoulder. Ugh. Keep the picture perfect with Honolulu-based Hadji Baba Bags' one-of-a-kind brides-only purses. The hand-sewn bags come in shades of white, cream or beige and feature such wedding-dress-friendly embellishments as appliques, lace, beads and seed pearls. Available exclusively at SpaHalekulani gift shop. Prices begin at $130.

— Paula Rath

GOOD GREEN FUN

Simple, clean designs, with names like "Siesta" are the hallmark of Organik, based in Kailua, Kona. "I love clothing, and I'm a surfer," says owner Ed Fernandez. "Everything we do has an impact on the environment." He uses 100 percent organic cotton shirts and water-based ink so "the chemical process doesn't end up in the ocean." Fernandez launches the 2008 line at the next Green Drinks event Dec. 5 at E&O Trading Co. Look for new designs on bamboo, pima cotton and recycled materials. Organik is available at select Big Island boutiques and at www.TheOrganik.com.

— Lacy Matsumoto

'STYLE,' SHE WROTE

Up close and in real life, Nina Garcia, Elle Magazine's fashion director and formidable judge on Bravo's "Project Runway," is a knockout. Nothing she wears is necessarily on trend, but the combination of high fashion and exotic beauty is breathtaking. Which is why her fans are all ears when it comes to the fashion advice the Colombian-born expert conversationally doles out in "The Little Black Book of Style" (Harper Collins, $17.95), illustrated by Ruben Toledo. "Perfection is overrated," she writes. "The ones whose hair is not flawless, whose outfits are not perfect, who are somehow breaking the rules ... I smile (at them) in silent worship."

— Ann Bratskeir, Newsday

PJ'S GOTHIC RIDE

PJ Harvey's latest, "White Chalk" (Island), is the British singer's Bronte sisters album, a set of chilling ballads sung by a woman lost out on the moor in the middle of the night in "Wuthering Heights." It doesn't rock in the slightest, and it's often sung in a high-pitched near-whisper but "White Chalk" is a strong, gripping gothic ride.

—Dan DeLuca, Philadelphia Enquirer

WHAT'S ON YOUR IPOD?

MARK CHITTOM, THIRTYNINEHOTEL HOUSE DJ

1. "Angry Eyes" (live version), Loggins and Messina

2. "Devil Weed and Me," Area Code 615

3. "Pyramid in the Wood in the Bright Light," Andreas Vollenweider

4. "Behind Closed Doors," Charlie Rich

5. "Another Station," (Todd Terje remix) Lindstrom

THE THINKING MAN'S DJ

On his blog, San Francisco producer, musician and DJ Sunshine Jones muses about the benefits of DVR and deconstructs the Playboy bunny — and you don't need to consult urbandictionary.com to understand it. Jones, who with his wife was half of Dubtribe, spins his brand of house at NextDoor on Friday. Read his take on life at sunshine-jones.com. Next Door, 43 N. Hotel St., 10 p.m.-2 a.m., $10, 548-6398.

— Lesa Griffith

SALES & BARGAINS